While I agree that re-hashing the primary wars often derails finding a path forward, there is obviously a need for us to come together to work toward better results in future elections. That means we have to have the discussions that keep floating to the surface — Economic Populism and Identity Politics vaguely signifying each side — in order to make any sort of path forward.
It feels to many (like myself) who were really feeling the Stronger Together vibe that our party is doing an about face. From my perspective we’re always going back to a hazy idea of the WWC as our base and trying to calibrate our party to them. Even this time when we lost by only a sliver. My opinion is that, at our core, we should recognize the right of all our voters to be represented in government and use that as our guiding light. Our most fundamental role as a political party is to put forth candidates to govern. We know when 4/5 of our policymakers are (mostly white) men and our political media is overwhelmingly white and male that white male voters will be the focus. It is our job to change this, to elect candidates who represent their communities and enact the reforms they need. To accomplish this I feel we should be on the front lines with our many groups of voters working to dismantle the discrimination that underpins many of our institutions. Finding our leaders among them. When I think about moving the party left, I think of BLM and DREAMers.
That said, I’ve been trying hard to see where the other side is coming from this week. I get that not everyone agrees the things I mentioned above should be our focus, especially when our message didn’t connect with people it traditionally has and we don’t see the numbers clearly coming from somewhere else. I see why many on the left are calling for a louder, more economic populist message to try and bridge the different voters under our party’s tent. The rhetoric of Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and now Keith Ellison has resonated with many on our side and they are of course fighting admirably for justice as well. There is a inspiring tide for the reforms we need that started with Occupy and has ascended to power in our party. There may be different areas of focus but we can weave them together. And while I was wholly impressed with the way she took on Trump within traditionally patriarchal political traditions, there are some valid criticisms of HRC and her team and we can use them to do better going forward.
The inevitable argument that comes next is that it isn’t either, it is BOTH. I see that our new leaders are trying to get there and I appreciate it. They seem to be trying to find a way to bring the Stronger Together coalition and the Bernie wing of the party together and I’m hoping it will click with the right people in place. It feels a little forced right now — like there is an obligatory nod to institutional racism and sexism as something we have to touch on before launching into what then feels implied to be a more important message of economic populism. Threading the needle will be awkward. We can and should continue to try and craft that better message but we should ultimately work harder on convincing ourselves, our friends, family members and neighbors to run for office, especially if they aren’t a ‘typical’ candidate. And then give them the support they need to be successful:
..it’s clear Democrats need to focus on doing identity politics right, rather than waiting for demographics to do the work for them. That means developing identities that cut across demographic barriers, sensitive to difference but rooted in inclusive values and broad-based economic prosperity. (Again, read Bouie.)
The way to do that is not primarily with “messaging” but with institution building, from the ground up. Democrats have to get into communities across the country, in every state, and organize people around a common vision, not just once every four years but continually, the kind of work unions and churches used to do (and still do, though not in the places or at the scale necessary).
Everything Mattered, Vox
I am going to my county party meeting this week. We’ll be electing officers. We’ve had a lot of interest on FB from people who haven’t come to our meetings in the past so I’m excited to meet some new volunteers and hear their ideas for reaching out to our neighbors. My choice for Chair caucused for Bernie and I don’t agree with him on everything but I know he’s dedicated and receptive to anyone’s ideas of how to get more Dems elected. We can definitely work together! My apologies for any overly snarky comments or rant-y diaries that weren’t constructive here on DK. There is only one ideology that I fundamentally disagree with and that one has control of my state and my country and also literally lives next door to me. Fuck Em. Let’s do this!